Source III is a software development company focused on providing EDA tools for dealing with the tasks of accessing, translating and managing vector data for both logic simulation and device testing. Service has always been, and will continue to be, our major emphasis. Our philosophy is that, in order for our products to be successful our customers must be successful with them in a timely and cost-effective manner. We provide a personal level of service to get customers up and productive with our tools - often adding custom enahncements to deal with new requirements. In fact, all of our development work is customer-driven. All products include 12 months of support and maintenance so that we can assure your success.

For our OEM customers, we strive to provide timely, flexible service with customized products which meet your specific needs. Our turn-around times for delivering customized Reader and Writer IP modules is often weeks rather than months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When I attempt to download VTRAN® I also get VCAP®, VGEN® and DFTView®. Where can I download just the package I'm interested in ?

A: Starting with the 10.0 release of VTRAN® our three related products (VTRAN®, DFTView® and VCAP®) have been combined into the Source III V10.0 Software Bundle, a single unified bundle. With the 10.0.1 update VGEN® is now included also. Software installation and upgrades are now managed with a single installer, which helps to eliminate potential version conflicts between various installs of each individual package. The software is also much more tightly integrated now and also provides a convenient way for evaluating updated versions of all four products.

In addition, beginning with VTRAN® 10.0 if you already have counted floating (or server-managed node-locked) licenses, you also now have immediate fully-licensed access to DFTView®.

Q: What is the most current release of the Source III V10.0 Software Bundle, and what are the releases of each application it contains?

A: The current version is 10.0.1

The constituent application versions are:

VTRAN&reg: 10.0.1

VCAP&reg: 10.0.1

VGEN&reg: 10.0

DFTView&reg: 10.0.1

Q: After setting-up my VTRAN® environment as described in the README.vtran file, when I try to run the VTRAN® program I get the following message:

sh: sysdef: not found
Unable to write to temp file. Check write access.

What causes this and how can I fix it ?

A: When VTRAN® begins running it uses a system utility named "sysdef" to access some platform information. The error message is generated when it cannot find this utility. The "sysdef" utility is normally located in the /usr/sbin or the /etc directory. Check to see where it is located, then add the directory to your search path.

Q: What types of licenses are available for VTRAN®, VGEN® and VCAP®? Is there a floating license available?

A: Source III products are available under floating licenses. The license options include the following:

Node-Locked License - Allows the software to run on a single node. The software can be run multiple times simultaneously on the licensed node and can also be run remotely (using rlogin or rsh). The license is locked to the hostid of the node.

Floating/Site License - This license allows the software to run on any node that is physically connected to the licensed subnetwork at a given site. The license key for this is tied to the IP Address and hostid of a license server on the network.

Q: What type of support does Source III provide with its products?

A: Source III offers support to customers purchasing any of its products through a maintenance and technical support contract. All products come with 12 months of maintenance and technical support as part of the purchase price. After the first year, maintenance and technical support can be renewed annually for 20% of the purchase price. Under a maintenance and technical support contract, customers get "hotline" telephone and internet (via email) support and automatic updates for new software releases. Delivery of all software and documentation is via our web (or ftp) site.

Q: How can I get an evaluation copy of one of Source III's products along with an evaluation license?

A: The first step is to download the desired product from our web site (www.sourceIII.com) - go the Download page and click on the appropriate link for your platform. Next use the UNIX utility "gunzip" to restore the tar file. Note that for some browsers the file will be gunzip'ed during download, but the 'gz suffix is still present. Next, create a directory to contain the software, move the tar file into this directory, and use "tar xvfp" to extract the files. Finally, follow the instructions in the README.xxx file (e.g. README.vtran) to setup your environment and search paths. You are now ready to run the program. If you would like to get a full evaluation license to run the software, from the Download Page, click on the "Request Evaluation Key" button. The hostid can be found using the following VTRAN® command option:

vtran -hostid

Q: How are the VTRAN® options licensed?

A: With a standard VTRAN® engine license, the VTRAN® program will perform vector translations between popular logic simulation formats including Verilog VCD, EVCD, WGL, STIL, Mentor, Quickturn, Synopsys VCS, TSTL2, TDL_91, and both Verilog and VHDL testbenches, and many more. In addition, specific tester interfaces can be optionally accessed. Within the VTRAN® license key there is an options field [options] which indicates which interfaces are enabled to run.

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Application Notes

This page provides application notes, tips and examples. Click on a link to view the application note. The following Application Notes detail common uses of VTRAN® for translating simulation vector files between different simulation and test environments.

Software bundles for each of our products can be downloaded below. These bundles include all executables, README files, PREVIEW evaluation keys, and some examples for each of the supported platforms. The files are tar'ed, gzip'ed directories. After downloading a bundle for your platform, place it in a directory, use the UNIX "gunzip" utility on the file, then "tar xvfp" the file in the directory. Once you have done this, follow the directions in the README (README.xxx) file to set your evaluation key and environment.

As noted in our Frequently Asked Questions, VTRAN®, DFTView®, VCAP® and VGEN® are now combined into the Source III V10.0 Software Bundle. You can elect to install any or all of these applications when you run the installer, and furthermore if you have a counted FlexLM license for VTRAN® (i.e. Floating or Server-Managed Node-locked) you will automatically have access to DFTView® as well.

To begin using VTRAN®, VGEN®, and VCAP® with a PREVIEW evaluation key, select your software bundle below. For VTRAN®, also download the INTERFACES bundle which includes example files and documentation on popular translations. Likewise, the EXAMPLES bundle provides a number of vgen program files that can be a great help in learning the vgen language.

If you need the Source III vendor daemon siiid for a different architecture than your main application bundle is targeted for, you can download the multi-platform Source III Licensing Bundle (S3LB). This contains the same vendor daemon which supports all of Source III's FlexLM-enabled products, along with all the Flexera tools you need to set up a FlexLM server.

In order to provide you with an evaluation license, we need to get the hostid of the machine on which it will be running. To determine your host ID, simply download the unified software bundle from this location, unpack, and run the command:

S3install.sh --hostid

If you are more familiar with the lmhostid utility you can use that instead to provide the same information. If you already have FlexLM installed on your machine, then this utility should be available. If not, you can find the lmhostid utility in the support directory within the unified software bundles.

The hex code generated is the hostid of the machine. Send the code to us and we can then provide you with an evaluation license.

Effective as of the date of purchase, Source III, Inc. and Customer agree as follows:

TERM. This agreement shall commence on the effective date and shall have a term of one year. After expiration of the initial term, this agreement shall terminate unless a new ORDER is issued by Customer and accepted by Source III to continue the agreement for an additional year.

ORDER. To request maintenance and technical support services under this agreement, Customer shall submit to Source III a written purchase order specifying the products to be maintained, the location and computers on which the products run, the user to whom updates should be sent (email address preferred), and the total annual charges. Maintenance and technical support orders shall be submitted with a minimum one year term and shall be subject to acceptance by Source III.

MAINTENANCE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES.

3.1 Source III will provide software maintenance, technical support and upgrade services on the licensed software. Maintenance services include telephone "hotline" technical support and providing automatic updates of new releases. Upon receiving a bug or problem report from a customer, Source III will provide technical advice, workarounds or, where appropriate, ship modified software to the customer to correct the problem. As long as the license is covered by an active maintenance and technical support contract, there is no charge to move the node-locked license to a new node. Source III requires only that it be provided with a written request, stating the old hostid, the new hostid and the assurance the software will not be run on the old host after it is installed on the new machine. Source III's obligations under this agreement shall be to use its best efforts to correct any software errors or to provide workaround solutions, including software fixes, as deemed appropriate by Source III.

3.2 Customer shall be notified when new software releases and updates are available for downloading from Source III's web site, to the extent that such releases and updates apply to software covered by this agreement. Source III software maintenance and technical support obligations shall apply only to the latest Source III software release and the one prior release. Customer shall treat all software updates and releases supplied hereunder in the same manner as agreed upon in the applicable Source III license agreement covering the original copy of software provided by Source III to Customer.

MAINTENANCE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT CHARGES. The initial purchase price of all Source III software products includes 12 months of Software Maintenance services as described in Sections 3.1 and 3.2. Upon renewal of this Agreement under Sections 1 and 2 above, Customer shall pay to Source III a maintenance charge of 20% of the current purchase price of the software product per year.

PAYMENT. Maintenance and technical support charges shall be payable in United States dollars on an annual basis. The charge will be due and payable within 30 days of the date on which the maintenance and technical support services are scheduled to commence.

TAXES. Customer shall pay any federal, state, or local taxes, or other assessments, however designated, exclusive of taxes on Source III net income, arising from or based upon this agreement or upon the maintenance and technical support charges payable under this agreement.

ASSIGNMENT. Source III may assign all or any part of its duties under this agreement. Source III will notify Customer of any such assignment, including new contacts for continued maintenance and technical support. However, no assignment by Source III shall relieve Source III of its obligations under this agreement. Customer may not assign this agreement or performance under it, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Source III.

LIMITED WARRANTY. IN CONNECTION WITH SERVICES RENDERED AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE SUPPLIED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, SOURCE III MAKES NO WARRANTY, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR OF MERCHANTABILITY.

GENERAL.

9.1 Entire Agreement; Amendment. This document contains the entire agreement between the parties relating to the subject matter contained herein and supersedes all proposals or other communications between the parties. Any terms or conditions on Customer's purchase orders which add to or differ from the terms and conditions of this agreement shall have no effect unless specifically accepted and agreed to in writing by an authorized representative of Source III.

9.2 Controlling Law. This agreement and all transactions under it shall be governed by the laws (excluding choice of law rules) of the State of California. Any legal action arising out of this agreement shall be prosecuted in California.

9.3 Waiver. No term of this Agreement shall be considered waived, and no breach excused, by either party unless made in writing by the other party. No consent, waiver, or excuse by either party, whether express or implied, shall constitute a subsequent consent, waiver or excuse.

Should you have any questions concerning this Agreement, please contact in writing:

VTRAN - a program which reads the state/time information from simulation or ATPG-generated data files, performs some optional processing on this data and then re-formats it for any of over 30 popular logic simulators and ATE. A powerful link between CAE and Test.